Draft-rigging.



R. G. TAYLOR.

DRAFT RIGGING. APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1907.

Patented July 23, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1,

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Patented July 23, 19.12.

R. G. TAYLOR.

DRAFT RIGGING.

APPLIGATION TILED SEPT.13, 1907.

R. G. TAYLOR.

DRAFT RIGGING. APPLICATION FILED $31 1.13, 1907.

Patented July 23, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

- To all whom it may concern:

UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH G. TAYLOR, or nAvENroRr, IOWA, assrenon TO isn'r'rnunonr AXLE com- IPANY, or nn'rrnnnonr, IOWA, A CORPORATION or IOWA.

' .DRAFT-ItIGGING.

' Specification of-Letters Patent.

Patented July 23. 1912'.

Application mease tember ia, 1907. Serial n6. 392,689.

Be it known that I,-RALPH G. TAYLOii, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Davenport, in the county of Scott and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Riggings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description."

My invention relates to the dgait-rigging of draw-bars for car-couplers. Heretofore draft-rigging has been constructed which brought into play, successively, the resistance ofseveral coil-springs or several series of coil-springs, but considering the very limited movement it'is dcemedadvisable to permit a car-coupler to have, the maximum resistance which these springsmrere capable of exertin has not been utilized-w Theob ect of my" invention is to permit the resistance ofthe coil-spiifigs of' the.

draft-rigging to find the fullest expression,

and to oppose the thrust and pull of the carcouplerby a gradually-increased resistance, :which. will not terminate in a sudden shockorjar, and to thereby great y increase the life of the car and its draft e ements. This I accomplishby the means'h'ereinafter fully described and as more out in the claims. I

In the drawings :Fi gure"1'i's a longitudinal horizontal central section through my improved drafl ligging, snowi g it "applied to the broken a'wayn'ear end portiorfo'f'the particularly pointed draw-bar of a car-coupler. Fig. 2, is a tear;

end view of the housing of myinvention with the springs removed, drawn to a slightly larger scale. Fig. '3 is a front end view of the same withthe springs in lace. Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on otted line 4-4, Fig. 1, drawn to a slightly larger scale. Fig. 5 is .'a' similar section taken on dotted line 5-5, Fig. 1. Fig.- 6 is alongitudinal central horizontal section. of the 7' lunger, removed from its housing; s an end view of the same. Fig. 8 is a ongitudinal central horizontal section of one of the clamping wedges of my inventionrw moved from the housing. Fig. 9 is an end View of the same.

In, the drawings, A, A, represent the centar-sills of a car; B, B,' angle-iron stopplates secured to the inner or opposing sur-.'

faces of said sill; C, C, the forward and rear transverse followerlates, the vertical edges of which engage said stop-plates; andD is the yoke of the draw-bar E of the carcoupler. All of. these parts of the draftrigging may, if desired, be patterned after any of the well-known and-extensively used draft-riggings, or may be constructed otherwise without departing from the spirit of my'invention, which, as will be explained, relate solely to the cushioning of the draw- The springs used in connectionwith my' hollow casing or cage '2, which is, preferinvention are inclosed and confined in a ably, of anelliptical shape in cross-section,

and is of a length about two or three inches less. than the normal distance between the follower-plates.- At about its' center of length the. bore of this housing is provided with correspondin .shelves that dam upthe sides of the bore intersected by the major axis of the ellipse described b the transverse shape of the housing, an leave a restriated central passage between them. The ends of these shelves facing one end of the the opposite ends thereof, and form tra'nsverse seats a, a, against which one end of the coil-springs E, E ,bear. that engage fellower plate 0.. The surfaces of said shelves 0 posed to each other are made oblique to 't c axis of the casing and extend outward from the ends constituting theseats a,

a toward the opposite endstoform'inclined planes 6, b. Theseinclinedplanes are engaged by longitudinally movable wedges F,

as will hereinafterbe more -fully .de-

casing project nearer .each other than at l I scribed, and-the ends thereof, nearest each other terminate in lugs 0, 0, the. edges "of which are correspondingly convexed,--sub stantially as shown in Fig. 20f the drawings, and are engaged by the concaved 'surface of a the guide-shoes of saidwedges There are two-pf these wedges F, 'and they, preferably, correspond with each other in every particular. Each comprises a channel-shaped plate or shoe d; which is concavo-convex in, cross-section, .andhas itsconvexed surface (which is opposed to the'co'nvex side of the shoe of the other wedge) provided with a series of suitably separated concave side thereof,

longitudinal ribs, c. This shoe, is preferably slightly greater in length than one-half that of the casing and projecting from the preferably nearer one end than the other, is a hollow enlargement or boss e, which has a flat oblique outer surface f opposed to and engaging the inclined planes 6 on the same side of .the casing. The widest endof boss 6 is provided with a transverse flange g, theedge of which 1s curved and shaped to conform to the curvature of the portion of the bore inclosed within the ends ofthe major axis of the transversely elliptical-shaped bore of the casing, with the surfaceof which it contacts.- Flange g'provides aseat which faces in the oppositedirection to seats a of the shelves of the casing, and has one of a series of two coil-springs G pressing against the same whose opposite end bears against the inner surface of the mushroom-shaped head of a plunger H. a

Wedges F are located in the flattened sides of the casin diametrically opposite each other, andwhen the are moved longitudinally away from fo lower-plate C,the engagement of the oblique surface f thereof with'the inclined planesb of: the shelves forces them toward the center and-causes them to engageand increase the. friction against the concaved sides of the longitudinally and centrally disposed-stem of said plunger H. The concavity of the sides of the greater part of the length of the stem of this plunger is the obverse of the inner convexed side of the shoes d of the wedges be tween which it extends, and said concaved sides are provided with longitudinal rooves h therein in which ribs 6, e of sai shoes have a sliding engagement. The outer surface of the head of the plunger Hengages follower-plate C. Whenthe draw-bar of the car-coupler reciprocates under the impact of bumping cars, spring E, E, are first compressed, and then follower-plate C, compresses spring G, which latter cause the wed es to have a relative longitudinally forward movement and at the same time move simultaneously inward toward each other and increase the resistance to the longitudi-' nal movement of the plun er, andbring the same gradually to a dea stop before the edges of its mushroom head engage the ad- 'acent end edges ofvtheicasmg. Near the ead of lunger H the stem thereof is shown to gradually increased in diameter, but the point at which this enlarged diametercommences is at such a dis tance from the head that it can not wed e springs G are compressed and? the and prevent the movement of the in between the adjacent ends ofw p unger just explained. When the draw-bar moves under the stress of the draft of the tram,

plunger moves and its movement is resisted, before Springs E are compressed, but if desired the casing aifi'l' other assembled elements of my invention may be reversed and the same results will be obtained from its use.

What I claim as new is:

1. Draft-gear for car-couplings comprisw ing parallel coil-springs, and frictional restraining wedges, one of which incloses the others and forms a portion of a casing 'surrounding said springs, the resistance between sa1d wedges increasing as said springs are compressed.'

2. Draftear for car-couplings compris wedges, one 'of which incloses the others and forms a portion of a casing surrounding said springs, the resistance between said wedges increasing as said springs are compressed.

4. Draftgear for car-cou lin comprising a longitudinally movab e p unger hav ing a, stem provided withgrooves, wedges having ribs that en a e the grooves in said plunger-stem, an a d1t ional.wedge-member aving an integral portion that. forms the housing for said draft-gear, and s ings interposed between the head of sai plunger and said wedges.

5. Draft-gear for car-couplings-comprising a longitudinally movable plunger having a stem. that is concavo-concave in cross?" section and provided with grooves in said concave portions, wedges having convex faces provided withribs that engage the grooves in plunger-stem, an 'additional wedge member having an exterior shell that forms the housing for said draft-gear, and

springs interposed between the head of said p I v unger and said wedges. 6. Draft-gear for car-couplings'comprising parallel coil-springs, a longitudinally movable plunger having a stemva portion of which is tapered, frictional wedges movable on said plunger normally removed from said tapered portion, and a cooperating opposite] arranged friction member having a portion that forms a casing surroundlng sa1d rings.

7, raft-gear for car-couplings comprising coil-sprmgs, a longitudinally movable her, A. 1)., 1907. G. TAYLOR. 1 5.

plunger having a stem a ortion of which is tapered, :frictional we ges movable on said plunger normally removed from said tapered portion, and an additional friction member that engages said wedges having a portion that forms acasing surroundmg said springs.

RALPH .Witnesses:

HENRY BELLINGHAUSEN, J. W. Bn'rrnnnonr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents eaeh, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. 0. p r 

